Joint construction for strip structures

ABSTRACT

A joint construction for plastic trim strip structures is disclosed in which a metal plate is positioned over and in engagement with the surfaces of abutting strip sections to be joined together. The plate is shaped to the general configuration of the joint to be formed and is bonded to the strip sections to form a firm interconnection with the strips. Securement of the metal plate is accomplished by coating the plate with a plastisol primer and heating the coated plate with a heating iron to bond the plate to the strip.

United States Patent 1 Jackson JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR STRIP STRUCTURESNorman C. Jackson, Lorain, Ohio The Standard Products Company,Cleveland, Ohio Filed: Apr. 14, 1971 Appl. No.: 134,017

Related US. Application Data Continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 787,043,Dec. 26, I968.

Inventor:

Assignee:

US. Cl 285/l89.36 H, 287/54 C, 52/717, 296/84 R Int. Cl. F16b 7/00 Fieldof Search 287/54 A, 54 B, 54 C, 287/189.36 H, 20.92'C, 20.92 D; 161/217,219; 40/152; 52/716, 717; 296/84 R, 93

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1969 Schlegel, Jr. et a1.287/l89.36 H 9/1953 Hussey et al 161/217 [451 Sept. 4, 1973 1,444,2292/1923 Zahner 287/l89.36 H X 3,183,560 5/1965 Brichard 287/189.36 H X3,189,136 6/1965 Stickney 287/l89.36 H

3,349,536 10/1967 Halko et al. 287/189.36 H X FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 243,638 2/1963 Australia 287/20.92 D

Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-Wayne L. SheddAttorney-Meyer, Tilberry & Body [5 7 ABSTRACT A joint construction forplastic trim strip structures is disclosed in which a metal plate ispositioned over and in engagement with the surfaces of abutting stripsections to be joined together. The plate is shaped to the generalconfiguration of the joint to be formed and is bonded to the stripsections to form a firm interconnection with the strips. Securement ofthe metal plate is accomplished by coating the plate with a plastisolprimer and heating the coated plate with a heating iron to bond theplate to the strip.

6 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED E? 4 W INVENTOR. NORMAN C. JACKSONAT TO RNEYS.

JOINT CONSTRUCTION FOR STRIP STRUCTURES This application is acontinuation-in-part of my copending application Ser. No. 787,043 filedDec. 26,

This invention relates to the art of strip structures such as trimstrips, seals, gaskets or the like and, more particularly, to joint orcorner structures for automotive trim strips.

Although the invention is described herein with reference to a cornerconstruction for joining automotive trim strips having specificconstructions, it is to be understood that the invention has broaderapplications and may be usefully employed with other types andconstructions of automotive trim strips and for purposes of formingjoints other than comer joints.

Various types and shapes of plastic trim strips, gaskets, and seals havebeen developed for sealing automobile closures such as doors andwindows, and for decorative purposes. Such trim strips are usuallydefined by a body of plastic material having an outer surface which maybe decoratively contoured and/or provided with a decorative covering.further, automotive seals or gaskets of the character referred togenerally include some type of relatively soft, resilient material toeffect a seal between the closure member and the structure in which theclosure opening is formed. It is frequently necessary that the trimstrip, seal or gasket extend around corners of various angles. The trimstrip, gasket or seal is often separately fabricated from a plurality ofstrip elements and subsequently installed or attached to a vehicle as aunit. Thus, it becomes most important to be able to construct the trimstrip, gasket or seal unit in a manner whereby the correct configurationincluding'all corners and angles is provided for, so that installationis facilitated and production or installation time is maintained at aminimum. Further, considerable emphasis is today placed on thedecorativeness of interior and exterior vehicle trim both by theautomotive industry and the buying public. Thus, it becomes extremelydesirable to provide trim strip and seal structures which have contoursuninterrupted by fastener elements and the like heretofore oftenrequired in the assembly and mounting of such trim strips and seals andin providing covers for joints between adjacent seal or trim stripcomponents. The present invention is concerned with an improved jointconstruction, and in particular a corner joint construction, forautomotive trim strips, gasket and seals and which construction providesthe foregoing desirable characteristics.

In forming trim or seal strip corner constructions heretofore, variousapproaches have been employed. One such approach is to mold the cornerportion of a seal, gasket or strip assembly as a separate component andthereafter join the ends of the corner portion to the ends of adjacentstrip portions of the assembly. Typical ilustrations of such approachesare to be found in US. Pat. No. 2,503,882 and US. Pat. No. 2,794,221.

Although this prior art'approach has proven generally satisfactory, itis a relatively expensive approach and the corner construction obtaineddoes not always possess the necessary strength for the intended purpose.Moreover, the corner angle obtained with this approach is necessarilylimited to the available molding techniques and is a substantially fixedangle which is too rigid to flex in order to conform with minorvariations thereof from an underlying support surface to which it is tobe attached, without stressing or distorting the strip material. Whensuch a strip is bonded by adhesive or dielectric sealing, such stressingoften causes the bond to be broken or the strip material to tear.

Another prior art approach has been a cut and fit approach in which thestrip was cut and fitted by hand and cemented to an underlying supportsurface or around a door or window opening. However, this approach isrelatively expensive due to labor costs and frequencly results inimproper installation of the strip and misalignment of strip componentsat points of joinder such as comer joints.

It is an outstanding object of the present invention to proviee anautomotive trim or seal strip joint structure which is economical toconstruct.

Another object is to provide a joint structure of the above characterwhich provides for an assembly of seal or strip components to have ahighly decorative appearance.

A further object is the provision of a trim strip joint structure whichhas characteristics of strength such as to avoid separation of the stripcomponents while permitting relative angular displacement of thecomponents at the joint for the latter to conform to variations betweenth joint configuration and the contour of. an underlying supportsurface.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an automotive trim orseal strip joint construction, and in particular a corner construction,which obviates the necessity for separately molding the joint structure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a cornerconstruction for strip structures of the above character which enablesthe prefabrication of strip assemblies to any desired angularconfiguration.

More specifically, it is an object of thi invention to provide a cornerconstruction for a strip structure in which mitered ends of two lengthsof strip material may be brought into engagement and joined together byreinforcing metal plate means secured to and overlapping both of theadjacent ends, thereby both joining and reinforcing the formed cornerconstruction.

Still more specifically, this invention contemplates strip structures ofvinyl material joined together at their ends in abutting relationship.Strip structures of the character herein referred to are distinguishedfrom plastic tapes and sheet material'which are extremely flexible. Inthis respect, the strip structures have substantial body or thickness orare structurally modified by metal reinforcing core means so that thestrips, while flexible, have a .degree of rigidity not possessed bythintapes and sheets. A metal plate generally shaped to conform to theconfiguration of the desired comer is coated with a plastisol primerandbonded to the vinyl strips at their point of abutment with portions ofthe metal plate overlapping and being secured to the ends of bothstrips, thereby securing the strips in position and reinforcing'theformed corner.

In a broader aspect, this invention contemplates a joint constructionfor lengths of flexible, non-metallic strips in which a plate means ispositioned over and in engagement with the surfaces of the strips to bejoined together. The plate means is then secured to the strips, as bybonding or the like, to form a firm interconnection between the strips.

Other objects, features, and advantages of this invention will becomemore apparent upon a complete reading of thefollowing description which,together with the attached drawings, describes but apreferred embodimentof the invention. It is not intended that the illustration of suchembodiment or the terminology employed in describing it is to belimiting.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals indicatelike parts in the various views:

FIG. 1 is a partial side elevation view of a quarter window seal andtrim assembly employing the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially in section, of a corner joint ofthe assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1 and illustratesthe strip in associated with mounting means therefor;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternate form of the cornerconstruction as applied to a trim strip assembly and illustrating theouter surface of the assembly;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the assembly of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of yet another form of corner constructionfor a trim strip assembly; and

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the assembly of FIG. 6.

Referring now in more detail to the drawings, there is illustrated inFIGS. 1, 2 and 3 a quarter window seal and trim assembly which employs acorner joint constructed in accordance with the present invention.Although a specific construction of the seal and trim assembly isillustrated, it is to be understood that the specific seal and trimcombination form no portion of this invention and are for purposes ofillustration only.

The seal and trim assembly, indicated generally by the reference numeral10, comprises a plurality of strip sections 12 having the adjacent endsthereof mitered so that the assembly has a contour corresponding to thatof the frame of the vehicle window opening about which the assembly willextend. Strip sections 12 are identical in cross-section and in thisrespect include a trim portion 14 defined by a U-shaped vinyl body 16 inwhich there is embedded a U-shaped metal core 18. The U-shapedconfiguration of the trim portion provides legs 20 and 22 defining achannel which facilitates mounting of the strip, as set forth more fullyhereinafter. Trim portion 14 preferably is produced by extrusion of thevinyl about core 18, but may, of course, be otherwise produced.

In combination with trim portion 14 is a sealing portion 24. Sealingportion 24 may be fabricated from any suitable elastomeric material andpreferably is a sponge rubber or other rubber-like material. Sealingportion 24 includes integral leg portions 26 and 28 disposed on oppositesides of leg 20 of trim portion 14 and suitably secured thereto by, forexample, heat sealing or adhesive bonding. Leg 22 of trim portion 14 maybe provided with a rib 30 extending toward leg 20. Legs 20, 22 and 28together with rib 30 facilitate mounting of strip 12 on support meanstherefor on the vehicle such as the flange means defined by flanges 32and 34 in FIG. 3. Such flange means extends about the window frameopening. When so mounted, trim portion 14 is exposed to view and sealingportion 24 is positioned to be sealingly engaged by the closure member.

To employ the seal and trim assembly with a closure such as a window, itis necessary that the assembly extend around the entire periphery of thewindow opening thereby to provide an effective seal for the window. Thisis accomplished, as partially shown in FIG. I, by interconnecting aplurality of separate strip sections 12, which sections are joined in anangular relationship to form a continuous assembly conforming to thecontour of the window opening.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, it is contemplatedthat the strip sections 12 may be jointed together in the followingmanner. Thus, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 adjacent ends of sections 12,including both trim portion 14 and seal portion 24, are mitered to forma corner of the desired angular relationship. To join the two vinylbodies of the adjacent trim portions 14 of the sections 12, a metal clipor plate 36 is employed. Plate 36 may be any suitable metal, such assteel. As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the metal plate 36 is shapedto conform generally to both the configuration of the exterior surfaceof the corner being formed and the angle between the strip sections. Tosecure the plate 36 to the strips, the plate is coated with anappropriate plastisol primer and is then positioned over the miteredjunction between the adjacent sections 12 with a portion of the plateoverlying each of the adjacent two ends of trim portions 14 of sections12. The metal plate is then heated and bonded to the vinyl bodies of thetrim portions thereby joining the two ends in a firm relationship. Theadjacent ends of sealing portions 24 may, if desired, be interconnectedby adhesive bonding, vulcanizing, or the like.

Precisely the same arrangement is employed for each corner constructionjoining adjacent ends of two strip sections 12. However, it will beappreciated that there may be a difference in angular configuration of aparticular corner, whereby a somewhat different configuration of themetal plate will be employed. Further, the width and length dimensionsof the metal plate will vary depending on the dimensions of the trimportions, and the thickness of the plate will vary in accordance withthe size and configuration of the trim portions and the joint strengthdesired.

It will be appreciated that plate 36 may be exteriorly configured ordecorated to conform with the appearance of vinyl body 16, or that body16 may be provided with a decorative covering such as a layer ofmetallized Mylar to conform in appearance with plate 36. In any event, ajoint is defined which blends with the strip sections.

A simple, yet novel, method of securing the plate 36 to the plasticstrips has been devised. This method contemplates coating the plate 36with a plastisol primer of the type normally applied to metal prior tothe application of a liquid plastisol coating to improve the performanceof the bond between the plastisol and the metal when the plastisol isfused. However, rather than using the primer with a liquid plastisol, itis contemplated that the primer will be used as the bonding agent bywhich the metal plate is caused to adhere to a solid extruded vinylstrip. Thus, the plate 36 is coated with a plastisol primer and theprimer may be allowed to dry to facilitate subsequent handling.Depending on the specific primer employed, a heat cycle may be requiredto dry the primer. After the primer has dried, the primer coated plateis placed in position across the joint between strip sections 12 andheat is applied to the plate causing the primer to bond the plate to thesurface of the extruded vinyl strip.

It is contemplated that the head applied to the plate may be supplied bya suitable device such as a hand heating iron or a soldering iron whichmay be pressed against the plate and passed thereover to efl'ect thenecessary heat transfer to cause the bonding to occur.

It will be appreciated that the described method merely requires asupply of liquid plastisol primer and a simple heating iron. With thesesupplies, a metal plate may readily be applied to a pair of plasticstrip sections.

The step of drying the primer coated plate before it is applied andheated is optional. The primary advantage of drying the primer is tofacilitate handling of the plate; however, where the plate is to beapplied to the strip almost immediately after the priming operation, thedrying step may be omitted.

Various types of plastisol primers may be employed with the heating andcuring times and temperatures being adjusted according to thecharacteristics of the particular primer employed. One specificplastisol primer that has proven satisfactory is marketed by the SherwinWilliams Company, Cleveland, Ohio under the designation P66CAl. TheP66CAl primer is a modified acrylic which is soluble in methylethylketone and toluene and has the following physical composition:

Weight per gallon 7.43 lb.

Weight solids 20.4 percent Volume solids 14.8 percent However, anyplastisol primer that will cure to give a bond between the metal and theextruded vinyl which will withstand a peel test of 15 pounds per inch ofwidth is satisfactory.

It is to be understood that various configurations of metal plates maybe used. Thus, referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, there is illustrated asimilar arrangement in which a pair of trim strip sections 40 areinterconnected in accordance with the present invention. In thisembodiment, trim sections 40 are defined by an extruded vinyl bodyportion 42 having an arcuate outer face which may itself be decorativelyembossed or which may be provided with a decorative covering such as astrip of metallized polyethylene terephthalate 44. Body portion 42 mayhave a substantially flat bottom surface to facilitate mounting thereofon an underlying surface such as by dielectric sealing or adhesivebonding, or the bottom may have rib means similar to rib 46 adapted tocooperatively engage slot means in an underlying support surface toretain the trim section in place relative thereto. In any event, thepresent invention provides for a trim strip assembly of sections 40 tobe constructed in a manner whereby the joint between adjacent sectionsis strong and yet is free of any fasteners such as screws or the likewhich would interrupt the continuous uniform decorative appearance ofthe outer surface thereof. In this respect, adjacent ends of sections 40are mitered to define a desired angular relationship between thesections, are disposed in abutting disposition and are joined in themanner hereinbefore defined by means of a metal plate 48 which may, forexample, be a steel plate dimensioned to provide a substantially rigidjoint between the trim sections. In the embodiment illustrated, plate 48is disposed in a recess in rib 46 defined by cutting away a section ofleg 50 of the rib so that the plate is bonded to a flat section definedby legs 52 and 54 of rib 46. It will be noted that the angular plate 48has legs 56 and 58 which are of a width less than the lateral distancebetween the side edges or rib legs 52 and 54, whereby the metal plateperforms its bonding function without interfacing with the mountingfunction of rib 46. It will be appreciated, of course, that rib 46 couldbe cut away to the plane of bottom surface 60 and that plate 48 could bebonded to the bottom surface.

It will be appreciated that trim, seal or gasket sections can be joinedin axial alignment to great advantage in accordance with the presentinvention to provide continuity of surface appearance in the area of thejoint, and that angular corner configurations other than the planarconfigurations of FIGS. 1-5 can be constructed. For example, withreference to FIGS. 6 and 7 of the drawing, a pair of trim strip sections62 are joined in a manner whereby the planes thereof are angularlydisposed. Sections 62 may be similar to sections 40 hereinbeforedescribed, but are illustrated as being comprised of bodies 64 of vinylmaterial having substantially flat bottom surfaces 66. In thisembodiment, adjacent ends of sections 62 are mitered at an incline tothe plane of the corresponding bottom surface and are interconnected inthe manner hereinbefore set forth by an angular metal plate 68. Bottomsurfaces 66 may, if desired, be provided with recesses to receive thelegs of plate 68. Such recessing would, of course, enhance mounting ofthe strip assembly if such mounting is to be achieved by adhesivebonding or dielectric seal- It is belived apparent that the abovedescribed construction has several advantages. Thus, it is no longernecessary to form a trim strip corner construction as a separate elementwhich is subsequently joined to other strips, nor is it necessary toseparately mold such a cor ner. With the described arrangement, thestrips may be made in continuous lengths and, when it is desired to forma particular angular construction, it is necessary only to sever thestrips to define sections of desired lengths, miter the ends of thesections, coat the metal plates with plastisol primer and apply themetal plates to interconnect the sections. In addition to beingextremely economical to produce and assemble it will also be appreciatedthat the resulting joint has much improved strength characteristics andcan be flexed or displaced to conform to an underlying support surfacewithout stressing or distorting the decorative surface thereof. Otherdistinct advantages of the described structural arrangements are that acomer construction of almost any angular configuration may be readilyformed, and an entire trim assembly can be constructed as a independentunit and then mounted in its position of use on a vehicle.

It will be appreciated that the concept of bonding a metallic member tonon-metallic members to form a joint has broader applications-than justforming corners. Obviously, the same method and essential structuralarrangement may be employed to join lengths of strips in end-to-endrelationship and this application is fully encompassed within theprinciples of this invention. Moreover, a multiplicity of strips mightbe joined together in this manner. For example, three or more stripsmight be joined together at their ends at a common point by thedisclosed method with the metal plate overlying and being bonded to eachstrip, much like a gusset plate.

The principles of this invention are also adapted to joining the end ofone strip to another strip intermediate its end thereby to form aT-shaped joint.

Modifications and alterations in the described invention will suggestthemselves to those having ordinary skill in the art and it is intendedthat such modifications and alterations are to be included within thescope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A trim strip corner joint construction between at least two lengthsof trim strip formed of resilient, synthetic polymeric resinous materialmountable on a motor vehicle body and each said length of trim striphaving an exterior surface which is exposed when a strip is mounted onthe vehicle body and having a second exterior surface adapted to facethe vehicle body, comprising: said trim strips being angularly disposedin end-to-end relationship, a metal plate element of correspondingangular configuration extending across the adjacent ends of said stripsand having portions in surface-to-surface contact with portions ofcorresponding ones of said exposed and second exterior surfaces of saidtrim strips, said portions of said metal plate extending only in thelongitudinal direction with respect to the corresponding ones of saidexposed and said second surfaces and having a transverse width nogreater than the transverse width of the portions of said correspondingones of said exposed and second exterior surfaces, and non-metallicadhesive means bonding said metal plate to said portions of saidcorresponding ones of said exterior surfaces for said metal plateelement and adhe sive alone to interconnect said adjacent ends of saidtrim strips.

2. The joint construction according to claim 1, wherein said syntheticpolymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bondingand metal plate element to said corresponding ones of said exteriorsurfaces is a plastol primer coating on said plate element.

3. The joint construction according to claim 1, wherein said metal plateelement overlies the exposed exterior surfaces of said adjacent ends ofsaid trim strips, said exposed exterior surfaces having a nonplanarcross sectional contour, and said metal plate element being contoured toconform to the contour of said exposed exterior surfaces.

4. The joint construction according to claim 3, wherein said syntheticpolymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bondingsaid metal plate element to said exposed exterior surfaces is a plastolprimer coating on said plate element.

5. A trim strip comer joint construction between at least two lengths oftrim strip formed of resilient synthetic polymeric resinous materialmountable on a motor vehicle body and each said length of trim striphaving an exterior surface of non-planar cross-sectional contour whichis exposed when the strip is mounted on the vehicle body and a secondexterior surface adapted to face the vehicle body, comprising: saidstrips being disposed end-to-end and having the adjacent ends thereofmitered to form an angle between said trim strips and for said adjacentends to haveopposed abutting end faces, a thin metal plate elementextending across the adjacent ends of said strips and having a portionin surface to surface contact with a portion of the exposed exteriorsurface of each strip adjacent said end faces, each portion of saidmetal plate element extending only in the longitudinal direction withrespect to the corresponding exposed exterior surface and having atransverse width no greater than the transverse width of thecorresponding exposed exterior surface, and non-metallic adhesive meansbonding said metal plate to said portions of said exterior surfaces forsaid metal plate and adhesive means alone to interconnect said adjacentends of said trim strips.

6. A joint construction according to claim 5, wherein said syntheticpolymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bondingsaid metal plate element to said portions of said exterior surfaces is aplastol primer coating on said plate element.

1. A trim strip corner joint construction between at least two lengths of trim strip formed of resilient, synthetic polymeric resinous material mountable on a motor vehicle body and each said length of trim strip having an exterior surface which is exposed when a strip is mounted on the vehicle body and having a second exterior surface adapted to face the vehicle body, comprising: said trim strips being angularly disposed in end-to-end relationship, a metal plate element of corresponding angular configuration extending across the adjacent ends of said strips and having portions in surface-to-surface contact with portions of corresponding ones of said exposed and second exterior surfaces of said trim strips, said portions of said metal plate extending only in the longitudinal direction with respect to the corresponding ones of said exposed and said second surfaces and having a transverse width no greater than the transverse width of the portions of said corresponding ones of said exposed and second exterior surfaces, and non-metallic adhesive means bonding said metal plate to said portions of said corresponding ones of said exterior surfaces for said metal plate element and adhesive alone to interconnect said adjacent ends of said trim strips.
 2. The joint construction according to claim 1, wherein said synthetic polymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bonding and metal plate element to said corresponding ones of said exterior surfaces is a plastol primer coating on said plate element.
 3. The joint construction according to claim 1, wherein said metal plate element oveRlies the exposed exterior surfaces of said adjacent ends of said trim strips, said exposed exterior surfaces having a non-planar cross sectional contour, and said metal plate element being contoured to conform to the contour of said exposed exterior surfaces.
 4. The joint construction according to claim 3, wherein said synthetic polymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bonding said metal plate element to said exposed exterior surfaces is a plastol primer coating on said plate element.
 5. A trim strip corner joint construction between at least two lengths of trim strip formed of resilient synthetic polymeric resinous material mountable on a motor vehicle body and each said length of trim strip having an exterior surface of non-planar cross-sectional contour which is exposed when the strip is mounted on the vehicle body and a second exterior surface adapted to face the vehicle body, comprising: said strips being disposed end-to-end and having the adjacent ends thereof mitered to form an angle between said trim strips and for said adjacent ends to have opposed abutting end faces, a thin metal plate element extending across the adjacent ends of said strips and having a portion in surface to surface contact with a portion of the exposed exterior surface of each strip adjacent said end faces, each portion of said metal plate element extending only in the longitudinal direction with respect to the corresponding exposed exterior surface and having a transverse width no greater than the transverse width of the corresponding exposed exterior surface, and non-metallic adhesive means bonding said metal plate to said portions of said exterior surfaces for said metal plate and adhesive means alone to interconnect said adjacent ends of said trim strips.
 6. A joint construction according to claim 5, wherein said synthetic polymeric resinous material is vinyl, and said adhesive means bonding said metal plate element to said portions of said exterior surfaces is a plastol primer coating on said plate element. 